


Tales from the Nightly Depths

by iceyly



Series: Nightfall [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26629960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceyly/pseuds/iceyly
Summary: Collection of missing scene from the Nightfall mainstory1: While escorting Quasimodo and Phoebus to the Court of Miracles, Goofy takes a moment to reflect on the nature of duty,2: In the wake of XV's visit to Pride Rock, Zazu is left behind freed, processing the notion that the prince he thought gone is still alive and questioning everything he'd thought true since Mufasa's death.3: After defeating Scar, Roxas and Xion go to Axel to ask what it's like to have a Heart. Axel tries to answer… and stumbles over some questions of his own.
Relationships: Axel & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Goofy & Sora, Simba & Zazu (The Lion King)
Series: Nightfall [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1428352
Kudos: 6





	1. Duty (to lord or the people)

**Author's Note:**

> This will be the space where I leave any scene/drabble/short story that couldn't make it into the mainstory for one reason or another. There will probably be more outsider PoVs here that wouldn't get a voice otherwise!
> 
> Please enjoy!

Goofy will be the first to admit that he worries a little about Sora – that boy gets impatient when he worries, tries to rush ahead and solve as many problems as he possibly can by swinging his Keyblade at them in order to suppress his own unease. It's not a healthy approach to take, especially not when they have no way of dealing with the core of Sora's worries. They can't help Riku or Naminé right now, not while there is still the trouble with their memories to sort out, so they can shake the influence of the Organization for good.

Donald grumbles when Sora rushes ahead, scouting their way as they escort Quasimodo and Phoebus to that Court of Miracles – it won't do to have any nasty encounters with those Nightmares after all – but Goofy can easily read the same unease underneath the irritation that his old friend expresses.

They need to get Sora to slow down and listen, because while this journey here isn't scripted by the Organization – not like their battles in Castle Oblivion had been – they still can't risk having Sora run off on his own again.

The King has left the young Keybearer in their charge, after all. 

They have different approaches to this duty, and while Donald takes to their task with the stern attitude of an uncle, Goofy can't help but approach Sora's swings in attitude with the same gentleness that he learned throughout Max's teenage years. Donald has had a heavy hand in raising his nephews, but the triplets have only barely breached that particular age, and for all they are mischievous, they have all of Uncle Scrooge's sharp wit and caution.

Max on the other hand had used to be moody too, when he had been about Sora's age… when their King had started to take more and more trips away from Disney Castle. It's never been unusual – Queen Minnie has always reigned over their home, guarding it with her command over magic and the measures they have taken many years ago to protect the Cornerstone of Light. Nevertheless, even before the King had left that last time, they had all known that there was trouble afoot in the worlds beyond the boundary of their own.

Goofy remembers sitting on the ledge of the castle walls with Max at his side, legs dangling as they had counted the stars and constellations. He remembers how his Heart had ached at Max's gasp when the stars started to blink out one after the other right before their eyes.

He remembers seeing Max's fear and sorrow, remembers the anger that he used to throw himself into his lessons days later.

Sora is so very similar to how Max had been then, so ready to lash out to ease his own confusion, but without a clear enemy to blame and strike at. That kind of anger, he knows, can only be eased by time and experience, by support and the declaration of unconditional love.

So, that is what Goofy will offer. Best to sooth when he can and leave the scolding to Donald.

"That kid sure seems like he has boundless energy," Phoebus notes as he falls into step with him, faint amusement tugging at the corners of his lips. "He must be difficult to keep up with."

"'Bout as much as any other teen," Goofy replies, "Sora's a good kid though, with his Heart in the right place. He really want's ta help ya'll against dat Frollo fella."

"Oh, of that I have no doubt," Phoebus says. "I saw you guys fighting those monsters at the Feast – you jumped in without any thought of how this might reward you. Your attitude… that's exactly what the City Guard _ought_ to be. But most of them forgot that we should serve the City first… and not those who rule it."

Goofy can see how his hands clench at those words, can't help but feel sympathy for the position that Frollo had forced Phoebus into.

A guard's captain should be loyal to his men and his lord… but first and foremost they have to care for those they are charged to protect. Goofy is very glad that in the many years that he has served – first alongside Mickey and then under his rule – he has never truly been forced to choose between those loyalties – not like Phoebus was.

"Ya made the right decision, goin' agains' Frollo," he says, nodding when Phoebus looks at him with faint surprise. "Ya Capt'n of da Guard… If ya don' stand up to protect dem common folks, who can they trust to help 'em, right? Frollo's da one dat forgot whom he really answers ta."

Goofy lets Phoebus study him as they continue their way to the Court of Miracles, and isn't all to surprised when the other captain breaks into laughter once he processed his words, smiling when he finally has gotten hold of himself again: "Sora isn't the only hero among you, is he? All three of you are far more than you seem."

Goofy shrugs at that – Sora (and Donald too, to some extend) is far more invested into the idea of being hailed a hero. Goofy himself is fairly content to take on any role the duty to his King sees fit to give him.

"I jus' listen to ma own Heart… and hope dat it never conflicts with da wishes of ma King," he says earnestly, head tilting up to search the dark night sky for stars.

(Somewhere out there, Disney Castle is waiting for all of them to return. Until that time comes, Goofy will stick to Sora and do his duty.)

_\--- Fin ---_


	2. Truth (long hidden, revealed at last)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This missing scene fits right after Nightfall's Chapter 08! Only Disney character's here, so this scene really doesn't do much for the KH part of the story, but the Lion King is my second most favourite disney movie of all times and I couldn't bear not writing this scene.
> 
> Though, I didn't even know just how invested I really am in Simba and Zazu's relationship (I petition for 'Uncle Zazu, Scar absolutely never had the right; I mean–).
> 
> So yea. I hope, you'll enjoy!

Zazu is still reeling from the last hour's events when he finally makes it past all the mangy hyenas lurking around the Pride Rock (a shame and scandal still, a part of him sneers, because his family has served in the position of majordomo for generations now and this certainly has never happened to any of his predecessors).

None of them ever had to serve a corrupt King either.

Possibly an illegitimate King even, he reminds himself with pounding Heart, because if that strange silver-furred hyena had told the truth then… if Simba is really, truly…

His first instinct is to go to Sarabi and inform her – she deserves to know, certainly, and if the source wasn't quite so questionable, Zazu would tell her without hesitating a second. But he can't trust that hyena, any hyena. If Simba is alive, he needs to find proof of that before bringing it to Sarabi.

She already lost her son once and it nearly broke her then.

So, instead of sneaking down through the tunnels to find the lionesses, Zazu beats his wings and climbs up high – so he won't risk getting recognized from below – then turns south.

There is a desert between the edge of the Pride Lands and the jungles that the unknown hyena had spoken off. Dangerous to cross, but it will give Zazu plenty of time to think at least. Plenty of time to recall and examine his memories of that day in the gorge, when they had lost Mufasa to the stampede.

He's always shied away from that before – he'd woken with the aftereffects of a concussion and that last clear memory of a lion cub clinging desperately to a tree… and just considering the idea that he might have witnessed his king and his prince die without having been able to help either of them had been too painful to linger on.

But now that he thinks back, it was strange to start with that Simba ended up in the gorge when he's been explicitly forbidden to enter that area on his own. As mischievous as the prince may have been… he wouldn't have disrespected his father's orders, not so soon after the incident at the Elephant Graveyard.

The pile of things that don’t add up is growing fast, so fast that it’s concerning that he never saw it before. (Scar had told him that his concussion was from getting too close to the stampede himself while trying to help… except… except that Zazu had meant to find help from the outside, that he had told Scar as much before–)

There is a horrifying picture forming in his head, one that means that they've let themselves be fooled by a false King for years. If all his conjecture is true and if Simba is really alive–

He has almost reached the edge of the Pride Lands when he spots a gold-brown figure entering their savanna beneath him, and he can feel his heart beat beneath his beak the closer he gets, nostalgia burning bitter sweet in his throat. Even knowing (or at least suspecting) who it is… from above, he looks just like Mufasa.

Zazu caws before setting down, swinging into a bow of respect that he hasn't truly meant in far too long, before glancing up.

Simba's eyes are wide with surprise, the same shade of red as both his parents… but his face is thinner, softer than Mufasa's. For all that he's all grown up now, he looks so young that it  _ hurts _ .

"Zazu?!" he gasps, an almost punched out sound. "What– don't tell me that weird monkey sent you!"

That weird… ah– Rafiki, no doubt. Their land's shaman would be the first to act on any hint that the true heir is alive. Zazu shakes his head, tries to find the words, any words… and then just gives up. He flutters up instead, and wraps his wing around the side of Simba's head in the closest approximation of a hug that he can give to a grown lion.

It had been so much easier to fold his wings over him when Simba had been younger.

He doesn't voice that thought. Instead he whispers low and only for the young lion's ears: "I'm so glad to see you alive, Simba."

A breath rattles in Simba's chest like a sob as he turns his face and nuzzles back, accepting affection with an ease that he had lost shortly after his parents allowed him to start exploring the Pride Lands outside their own line of sight. He takes another deep breath before pulling away.

"Nala told me how bad it was… but I didn't think–" he cuts himself off with a shake of his head before glancing over the lands that should be his to reign. Will be, if Zazu has any say in it. "…I just couldn't imagine. I should never have left."

Zazu shakes his head sharply, because he is utterly certain now: "Scar would have killed you, if you hadn't."

"It would have been his right," Simba murmurs, misery flickering over his face. "I… father's death–"

"Was never your fault!" Zazu cuts him off, fluttering up to force Simba to meet his eyes. "I was in that gorge too, Simba. If your father had really died saving you, it would have been an accident. You were just a cub;  _ his _ cub! King Mufasa loved you with all his heart. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself. And… I don't think either of us knows the whole truth of what happened that day anyway."

Simba draws back, uncertainty leaving his features as he frowns: "You think Uncle Scar… no. No way. Father was his  _ brother _ ."

"Whom Scar had been jealous of since long before you were born," Zazu tells him sharply, because he remembers all those confrontations, the tension between Mufasa and Scar right after Simba's birth. "Think Simba… why were you in the gorge that day in the first place?"

Simba's brow furrows as he thinks back, head tilting as he drags himself through the memories of that awful day: "Uncle– No, Scar. He took me there himself because Nala and I weren't allowed otherwise… but he said that fa– that  _ dad  _ was going to meet me down in the gorge for… a surprise."

His eyes snap up, wide with horror as he whispers: "He told me the surprise would be  _ to die for _ !"

Zazu feels exhaustion and grief pass through him like he hasn't allowed himself to feel since right after Mufasa's death.

"It was never your fault," he repeats… and this time, he knows that Simba believes him.

Simba takes another deep breath and draws himself up, eyes scanning over the dried up shape of his lands as he settles into his height and shape in a way that Zazu had last seen in his father. "Scar is not getting away with this. We are taking back the Pride Lands."

He turns his gaze down to meet Zazu's eyes, head tilting. "Zazu… will you help me?"

He can't help but smile, warmth beating in his chest as he spreads his wings and folds down into a bow again.

"It would be my pleasure,  _ Sire _ ."

_ \--- Fin --- _


	3. Friends (stay in my heart)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of an Interlude than a missing scene tbh, but it doesn't fit into the mainstory and I don't want to change my chapter count, so it's found its place here! Timing-wise, this takes place right after the first scene of [Act 02 - Chapter 05](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21013595/chapters/68770077), so after Roxas and Xion defeat Scar and leave the Pride Lands!
> 
> It's also the first proper Axel PoV I write in this AU and I always forget that I really like writing him in fic settings. Axel is a complicated character and I thrive on those, so it probably shouldn't have surprised me? |Da;
> 
> That said, please enjoy!

Axel can't help but stretch lazily under Twilight Town's red evening sun. It's been a fruitful day of work, Demyx is always easy to work with… or work around, if need be. Sneaking through the greek mountains and up into the seat of the gods in search of more information on that mysterious protective medallion… that's easy work, really.

Nothing he hasn't done a thousand times in the last decade.

It's nice to have this again, he thinks – easy work and friends ( _ friends! _ Now, there's a thought!) to share his after-hours with. He hasn't had that since way back when he and Isa had started as apprentices in–

Yea, better not go there, he thinks with a flinch. Saïx is different now than back then, no longer the best friend that he's once relied on. Hell knows which of them was really the one to change. At least with Saïx focused on doing his level best to limit Zexion's reach and influence in the upper ranks, there is no more talk about returning to Castle Oblivion.

Axel has better things to do than spend another couple of weeks on fruitlessly searching that creepy place, thank you.

He'll rather meet with Roxas for ice cream every day – and Xion too, whenever she can manage. Those kids had been paired off together for the first time since Zexion took the reins over Xion's work schedule, so chances are good that they'll both be coming too. Though…

"…They  _ are _ pretty late," he notes to himself. They must be facing one hell of a Heartless, if–

He turns at the tell-tale swoosh of an opening Corridor of Darkness, just in time to see Roxas and Xion stumble through.

"About time!" he tells them, a grin pulling at his lips… right until he actually sees their faces. "Well, you two sure look like someone's been drowning your kittens. Bad mission?"

It used to happen a lot to most of them back when the Organization had barely started out and having a Heart had been much less of the faint echo it has become by now. Axel remembers scouting worlds and witnessing what the Heartless do, and reliving the horror he had felt just before losing his own Heart. Not feeling anything about that… the lack of fear or disgust or any human emotion at all… he hadn't known how to handle it, not then.

None of them had, and maybe that's why the Organization managed to last to its current form, despite the infighting that's going on now. Axel can't help but wonder when they had lost sight of what had bound them together in first place.

Roxas shrugs, dragging him out of that thought when he says: "The mission was fine, for the most part. The Heartless they sent us after was strong, but we already knew that going in."

True enough… Saïx wouldn't be sending away both their Keyblade Wielders on the same mission unless the Heartless was too much for just one of them. But if it's not the mission… well no. First things first.

"How about you both sit down already," he tells them while patting the clocktower's stone ledge. "Your ice cream is going to melt away from sheer disappointment if you keep it waiting like this."

That at least earns him a startled laugh from both of them, which is definitely already an improvement to the long faces they've been showing off so far. Axel can't help but startle when – rather than sit at Roxas' left like usual – the two of them switch places, with Roxas at Xion's side and Xion in between them both.

She looks pretty uncertain when she meets his eyes, head tilting up as if to check whether she is overstepping.

She's definitely not, best to make that clear from the start – so he meets her unvoiced question with a faint grin. Nothing to talk about here – Xion can sit wherever she likes, and if they are both sitting just a few inches closer to him than usual, so close that it would be easy to reach out and pull them both into his side for a group hug–

Huh, now there's a thought. It's been an eternity since he's last entertained the idea of that kind of tactility. Then again… to be fair, it's not like anyone in the Organization is cuddly anyway. Physical comfort is unnecessary when you don't have a Heart to enjoy it with.

He ignores the impulse and hands the kids their ice cream sticks instead, alternating which one to watch from the corner of his eye as they sit and eat in companionable silence.

"…Axel?" Xion asks quietly, while playing with the empty ice cream stick between her fingers. "You remember what it's like to be human, right? Can you… what it's like to have a Heart?"

Axel blinks down at her, head tilting. "Well, yea. The others do too – it's just you guys and XV who started out with nothing from your past. But you gotta realize that it's been ten years since the last time I actually  _ felt _ something. Hell knows if I even remember correctly what it's like."

He can't be sure about it, and that's why it's more comfortable to consider Lea's life separate from his own. Lea had not been the kind of person who'd kill an ally to further his own advantage. But Nobodies aren't really people in the first place, right?

It doesn't stop Roxas from looking almost pleadingly when he argues: "Even if it's been a while, it's still more than Xion and I have."

And even though that can't be disputed, Xion moves in for the kill before he can even try to counter: "Please try… it would mean a lot."

Axel sighs while running a hand through his hair.

"You guys owe me the next three rounds of ice cream for this," he warns them absently as he searches for words that would suffice as description.

"Looking back… having a Heart is like constantly being warm inside," he tells them after a while. "Honestly, it's harder to describe what it was like to have them than what it was like to feel the loss. When I started out as a Nobody, I'd always remember how any given situation used to make me feel… and that all there was inside me was that empty space."

He forces down the urge to grimace – this is getting way more personal than he really wants to share with the kids, so he forces a cheery shrug to wave off the twin looks of concern they pin on him.

"Ah, stop looking so worried about dear ol' me," he says, "The rest of us had a lot of time to get used to it. I'm pretty sure there are a couple of people in the upper ranks that actually preferred this heartless existence to those pesky human emotions that we used to have."

Vexen certainly comes to mind, and Xaldin too. Xemnas and Xigbar are wildcards in this particular bet – honestly who can even guess what those guys are  _ really _ thinking. Zexion had been even more of a kid than Saïx and he had been when the Heartless had come for Radiant Garden and he's always been loyal to the company line.

He'd be a good ally to have, if his position in the Organization weren't keeping Saïx from climbing further up himself. 

"Not you, though," Xion assesses, her head tilted to the side. "Right? You want your Heart back too, don't you Axel?"

"Well sure," Axel replies with a shrug. "It'd be nice to have back, I guess. But being like this isn't so bad either… at least with you guys around."

He means it teasingly, except… thinking about it, it's really just true. He's had more fun in the last couple of months – ever since Xemnas had left Roxas in his care – than in the five years before that, in the very least. It doesn't hurt that neither of the kids are in any way or shape involved with the infighting. It's nice not to have to watch what he says as much, even if that honesty is probably a two-edged blade.

He'd been on the right track earlier – it really is nice… having friends again.

"So, what's brought this all on anyway?" he rushes to ask them to cover up that raw truth he's unloaded on them just now. Light forbid they start teasing him about it – he knows Roxas and Xion both have that in them. Innocent eyes haven't fooled him in a long while. "Spill it already, you two."

Xion is the first one to break.

"Roxas and I… we think we remember a little, from back when we were humans too," she tells him. "There's a boy in red that we've both been dreaming about."

Axel does his utter most not to stiffen or flinch as he turns to eye Roxas – that "boy in red" can only be one person after all. Even though they've lost all trace of the Keyblade Master after Castle Oblivion, they still have Naminé – Saïx had told him that she's being held in the Castle anyway.

Wherever she is, it's no doubt Zexion's purview, same as Ri– XV. Her powers are probably how they turned that kid into that blank slate he is now. (Thinking about that is  _ way _ more uncomfortable than Axel thinks it used to be, somehow. Maybe it's because he'd prefer even being turned into a dusk to being that kind of manipulated shell, but that's neither here nor there.)

Roxas shrugs when he meets his eyes, like that doesn't really affect him. Maybe he'd feel more connected, if he knew who Sora is to him.

"It's fine, for me. I just dream about him fighting Heartless with his friends," he says. "Xion's the one…"

He trails off leaning forward to glance at their friend, worry openly written over his face.

Xion keeps silent, even after Axel turns back to face her. He reaches over and drops his hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze… and that's what does the trick.

"I dream about him too," she says. "But I'm the one he's fighting… and every time I wake up, my chest  _ hurts _ . That's why…"

His eyes drop down to where she is clenching her fingers over her chest. Right where her Heart should beat. Ah well…

"Yea, having a Heart isn't just daisies and roses all the time," he tells them with a sigh. "Fighting with someone, being angry or sad… it's not fun at all. But that's the way it is… you don't get to have the good without the bad, when you deal with human emotion."

"But–" he continues on, before either of them can agree or question that. "That's what best friends are for. When you are in for tough times, you rely on each other. A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved… supposedly."

Then he seals the deal and just gives into that earlier impulse by throwing his arm over Xion's shoulder, nodding at Roxas over her head until he also scoots close and slips an arm around her waist. That's like… half a group hug… and it absolutely has the intended effect, because it chases Xion's sadness off her face and leaves behind a smile.

She presses her head against his chest for just a moment, before pulling back and looking up at him, her smile falling away into almost comically serious determination.

"It's the same for you, you know!" Xion tells him, then expands on that when he furrows his brows at her. "You can rely on us too, when you are worried. You are our best friend too."

It startles him so bad that he starts laughing and pulling her closer before reaching over to mess with Roxas' hair when he grins and agrees with Xion.

"You two are menaces," he tells them. "It's not like we  _ can _ even worry about anything."

And yet… ah, maybe he is growing soft because he can't help adding more softly: "I'll keep it in mind anyway."

It's not until later – long after they had returned to the Castle That Never Was – that he thinks about it; about what exactly the memory that Xion described might mean. He'd thought, maybe she's connected to Kairi, considering how much she had reminded him of Naminé when she first dropped the hood…

But that memory… that had to have been Riku's.

(Riku, who doesn't have a Nobody. Riku, who's memory has been scattered even worse than Sora's was in Castle Oblivion. Riku, whom Xion keeps  _ being teamed up with _ .)

Something's not right there, Axel thinks as he dresses down for the night. Something is up… and maybe this is why Saïx had asked him to keep an eye on the interactions between Xion and XV. He better have some answers ready once Axel manages to catch him alone again.

He'd been wrong earlier, Axel notes to himself as his head falls back against his pillow. 

Looks like he can still worry after all.

\--- _FIN_ \---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For somewhat regular snippets from upcoming chapters and current WIPs, follow me on my writing tumblr!  
>    
> [Tumblr](https://iceylyst.tumblr.com/</a)  
> Also, please consider leaving me a kudo or comment! It really helps with writing motivation! :3


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